Survival Manual of the Science Fiction World

Hattori secretly rolled his eyes: "Do you think I can beat Brother Chu Ming? Of course I'll pick on the weak!"

After making a fuss for a while, it finally ended with Conan deleting the video and photos in a wronged manner. However, he comforted himself, saying that it was okay, since Brother Chuming still had a copy, so it wasn't a loss.

After the competition, everyone went to Hattori's house for the long-awaited pufferfish hot pot, which was personally prepared by Hattori Shizuka. The people at the table ate without even looking up.

The delicious broth and various side dishes made it taste really good. Chu Ming ate while looking at the person opposite him. Kazuha, who was arguing with Hattori, was getting quieter and quieter. At this moment, she was so sleepy that she leaned her head against Hattori.

Hattori Heiji froze, his face darkening with embarrassment: "What... what's wrong with her? She's still eating..."

Hattori Shizuka glared at her stupid son: "How dare you say that? Don't you think about how many places Kazuha and I ran around looking for you today? We probably ran all over the Naniwa Sports Center. We must be exhausted."

Hattori couldn't help but retort, "What can I do? It's a murder case, of course I have to solve it!"

Kogoro Mori looked up and praised, "As expected of the chief's son, your awareness is truly exceptional! Solving the case and still making it to the competition, that's amazing!"

Although he knew that Kogoro Mouri's fame was largely due to Conan's efforts, Heiji Hattori still smiled broadly, revealing a bright, white smile, as it was a compliment from an elder.

Hattori Heizo pressed Heiji's head down: "Oh, not at all. That kid solves cases purely by luck. He can't compare to you."

Looking at the hand pressing down on Hattori's head, the difference between it and Hattori's dark skin is obvious. Then look at Hattori Shizuka, who is clearly a beauty. So why is Hattori so dark-skinned? A genetic mutation?

Conan, on the other hand, was secretly chuckling to himself. He had solved all of Kogoro Mouri's cases. When Heizo Hattori said that Heiji was inferior to Kogoro Mouri, wasn't he implying that Heiji was not as good as him?

Although I know Hattori Heizo was just being modest, I was still quite happy to hear it at first.

Ginjiro Toyama raised his sake cup and drank it all in one gulp, then chuckled and teased Heizo Hattori: "You're always talking about your kid. Weren't you just like that when you were young?"

Hattori Heizo, still squinting, spoke in a serious tone: "Weren't you going to drive? Why are you drinking?"

"Isn't that what you're here for? Don't drink anymore. I'll be asking you to take my daughter and me home later." Toyama Ginjiro smiled and drank another cup.

Hattori Heizo paused slightly, seemingly understanding something, and nodded in agreement.

The confrontation here didn't affect Heiji and Conan's playful banter after dinner. Hattori had been eager to compete with Conan, and although the case during the day was a draw, he saw Conan secretly laughing tonight, even though it was just a humble remark from his father who didn't know the truth!

Chu Ming left the war zone early, saying he needed to rest first.

Conan was already annoyed by his dawdling, so he'll definitely wake him up early tomorrow as revenge. Go to sleep early now, and get up early tomorrow to show Conan that he really does get up at 5 a.m. to exercise!

——o(?^｀)o——

At seven o'clock in the morning, Conan got up early and quietly sneaked into Chu Ming's room.

He had just soaked his hands in cold water for a long time, preparing to give Chu Ming a surprise later.

However, when he arrived at Chu Ming's room, he found it empty. The bedding was neatly folded, and when Conan touched it, there was no warmth at all, indicating that the person had been up for quite some time.

Conan stood on tiptoe by the window and looked down, but he didn't see anyone.

What's going on? What time is it? Where could Brother Chu Ming go so early?

Having failed to trick Chu Ming, Conan walked out listlessly, only to find Chu Ming chatting with Hattori Heizo as he walked back downstairs.

Conan rubbed his eyes and looked at the sun again. It really did rise from the east. To be able to see Chu Ming, who wasn't in bed, at seven in the morning was practically like a rain of red.

Chu Ming passed by Conan and patted Conan's head: "Conan, you just got up? That's a bit late. You know there's an old Chinese saying, 'The early bird catches the worm.' Morning time is very precious. I usually get up around 5 a.m. to exercise. Conan, you need to keep it up. But compared to Uncle Conan, he gets up even earlier. When I got up to go for a run, I found that he had already been practicing kendo at the training ground for a long time."

Conan's lips twitched; Chu Ming had really pulled off this stunt...

Hattori Heizo had some praise for Chu Ming. It was rare to see such a diligent young man these days, getting up early to exercise, unlike his own brat who stayed up all night and didn't get up in the morning!

Half an hour later, everyone sat around the table to eat breakfast. Hattori glanced at Chu Ming with a resentful look from time to time. He usually didn't get up late, after all, he had a strict father at home. But he didn't expect that just because Chu Ming and the others stayed at home for one night, his father would use Chu Ming getting up at five o'clock to exercise as a standard and require him to get up early every day to practice kendo.

Damn it, why did Brother Chu Ming suddenly get all worked up like this?!

The group had arranged to meet Kazuha at the entrance of Tsutenkaku today. When they arrived, Kazuha pulled Ran along and invited everyone inside. Then, standing on top of Tsutenkaku, she introduced the surrounding scenery to them.

—That's exactly what Hattori told them when they came to Osaka last time.

Is it that you two are on the same wavelength, or have you both memorized all the tour guide terminology used in Osaka?

Kazuha clenched her fist in anger: "Then tell me, if you were to take everyone out to play, where would you take them?"

Hattori leaned on the railing, looking ahead: "If it were me, I would take you to the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters right in front of Osaka Castle, and give you a thorough tour inside and out."

Chu Ming was completely bewildered. What, are you taking me to turn myself in? And last time you took us in a police car, this time you're taking us on a tour of the police station. Typical Hattori!

Kazuha turned her head away immediately: "Only an idiot like you would like to take people to the Metropolitan Police Department!"

Conan, on the other hand, looked on with longing and quietly tugged at Chu Ming's sleeve: "Brother Chu Ming, this sounds pretty good."

Chu Ming glanced at Hattori, who was beaming with pride, on his left, and then at Conan, who was looking on with anticipation, on his right.

Goodness, Hattori's reading of 'new' characters is maxed out.

Chapter 373 Does the amulet actually work?

Ran quickly tried to smooth things over for Hattori and Kazuha who were making a ruckus: "But the view of Osaka Castle from Tsutenkaku is much more beautiful than in photos or on TV. It's true that you have to see the scenery in person to appreciate it."

Kazuha didn't care about arguing with Hattori anymore. She pushed Hattori away and took Ran's hand. "Osaka Castle has been renovated. The renovated buildings look brand new. The castle tower hasn't been updated since it was renovated 60 years ago."

"It was seventy years ago," an aged voice interrupted Kazuha's introduction.

Chu Ming looked in the direction of the sound and saw a Mediterranean-looking man with a big beard and a beer belly. Hiss—could this be the legendary Professor Agasa's brother, Master Agasa?

Chu Ming was amused by the sudden thought that popped into his head. Although this person looked a lot like Professor Agasa at first glance, his slanted eyes and gloomy aura made him look quite different from Professor Agasa.

Kasuya Arihiro stood to one side and recounted the history of the castle tower's reconstruction in a detailed and well-reasoned manner.

During the conversation, Kasuya Arihiro's friend also came over. They mentioned that they had joined a tour group themed around the eight-day trip to Taiko Hideyoshi, and that they would draw lots to play role-playing games every day. However, the person playing the role of Toyotomi Hideyoshi had disappeared early in the morning, and they didn't know where he had gone.

According to the laws of science, in any large gathering, if someone is missing, it means someone has died.

Kazuha wanted to say something, but Hattori pulled her away: "Alright, let's hurry up and take Conan and the others to play. We don't have much time. There are so many fun places in Osaka. If we don't hurry up and take them there, we'll run out of time."

The group strolled around until nightfall, and surprisingly, nothing happened.

Chu Ming was in a daze and thought he was traveling alone.

What's going on? Aren't there three Grim Reapers here? Where's the case? Where's the deceased? Where's the magnetic field?

What about the cards featuring the three Grim Reapers?

Chu Ming looked at Conan, who was practically skipping along with Ran, Kogoro Mouri, who was chatting with Ran as they walked, and Heiji Hattori, who was flirting with Kazuha. Looking at the peaceful scene around him, Chu Ming felt a little depressed.

Does the Grim Reaper's aura only work in Tokyo?

Maybe next time I should invite Hattori to go to Tokyo.

Just as Chu Ming was thinking about how to trick Hattori into going to Tokyo, Kazuha suddenly exclaimed.

Chu Ming looked over immediately. What happened? What happened? Did you see a corpse?

"My wallet is missing!!!"

...Goodbye.

Hattori looked speechless: "Didn't you put it in your purse? How could it fall out?"

"I don't know either! It's all because of you, you kept urging me, that's why I rushed out."

Hattori glanced at the sky: "It's getting late. How much money do you have in your wallet? If not much, then forget it. Let's hurry up and get going."

"Five thousand dollars. It's not a lot of money, but... but the amulet inside is very important!"

Hattori panicked when he saw a tear slide down Kazuha's cheek: "Don't cry, I'll help you look for it, okay?"

"Crying? Who's crying?" Kazuha looked up, her face full of confusion.

Chu Ming looked up at the sky: "It's raining."

Xiaolan pulled a women's umbrella out of her bag: "Luckily, I was prepared."

Chu Ming looked at the three adults and one child crammed under a small umbrella and was somewhat speechless. He took off his coat and put it on his head: "How about we go to the convenience store next door? We can take shelter from the rain and buy some food while we're at it."

Upon hearing this, Conan looked to the side and said, "I remember now, Kazuha-neechan bought a camera at that store. Did she leave her wallet there back then?"

Chu Ming, wearing his clothes on, accompanied Xiao Lan and He Ye to the store and, sure enough, found He Ye's wallet.

"Thank goodness, I went to the temple beforehand to get several amulets to ward off evil spirits, so that things wouldn't happen like before and prevent us from having a good time."

As she spoke, Kazuha took out a long string of amulets from her wallet: "Look, we played all day and nothing happened! They really are useful!"

Chu Ming's gaze drifted to the talisman in He Ye's hand. Good heavens, so this is why I got nothing today!

Just then, he suddenly heard the shop assistants talking amongst themselves.

"What? Someone just fell from the castle tower on fire?"

"Yes, yes, a lot of people are watching. The police have already arrived."

"..."

"..."

Kazuha's hand, which was holding the amulet, instantly drooped: "What is this? It's completely useless..."

Seeing Kazuha looking somewhat dejected, Ran didn't know how to comfort her, so she quickly turned her gaze to Chu Ming, who was standing to the side.

Upon receiving the signal, Chu Ming thought for a moment and helped He Ye put the amulet into her wallet: "How could it not work? Think about it, we've been fine all day, right? But the case suddenly happened while you were missing your wallet. What does that mean? It means this amulet is very effective! Next time, as long as you keep your wallet safe, we can have a smooth trip!"

Hmph, I'll steal your wallet the first time I see you next time.

Chu Ming, who was not being honest with himself, quickly comforted the naive He Ye.

The group started walking towards the crime scene. Finding Conan and the others was very simple; whenever there was a case, they would definitely be at the scene.

Through the surging crowd, He Ye thought for a moment, then took Xiao Lan to the side to make a phone call, while Chu Ming cleverly pushed through the crowd and soon stood at the very back.